Hop Slayer - Onion Pub & Brewery / Wild Onion Brewing Co.

beagle75

Iowa

3.73/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz. can into a tulip glass.

A: Murky, medium amber color with two fingers of pearlescent cinnamon-tinted foam. Medium but inconsistent lacing remains on and a few solitary bubbles rise from the sides of the glass.

S: Caramel malt is rather pronounced in the smell, with crisp minerality, piney herbaceous hops, and a trace of esters also detectable. Intensity is sufficient for the style but some contributing elements border on being soapy or medicinal. No alcohol is detected.

T: Begins fairly sweet, with refined caramel and hop aromatics that remain true to the smell. Acidity is bright and intense, helping out a little in the balance. Malt's grainier qualities emerge in the middle, with mild estery fruit also making a contribution. Umami is defining in the finish--not overpowering, but certainly the most noteworthy quality present. Otherwise, bitterness is predictable in intensity but excessive in duration while herbaceous and toasted grain flavors keep things interesting late. Alcohol builds throughout the serving, but never becomes noxious or defiant to style.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, slightly sticky and just barely astringent on the palate, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: Not being a participant in the Chicago-area beer scene, the appearance of this beer--in cans!-- at Eagle River Liquor in Fulton, IL, caught me completely by surprise. While it looks like homebrew, it actually presents a host of other qualities that are each satisfactory in their own right. One of its best features is the appealing balance it strikes between malt, hops, and yeast contributions; in the final tally it comes together remarkably well, yielding a DIPA of reasonable strength that is greater than the sum of its parts. Beer judging aside, the label art seen on the can is some of the least appealing yet encountered.

Serving type: can

09-30-2011 00:20:23 | More by beagle75

kguard

Iowa

3.25/5  rDev -12.9%

05-19-2013 14:21:52 | More by kguard

mychalg9

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

05-17-2013 19:37:22 | More by mychalg9

sdonegan

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +13.9%

05-17-2013 04:43:22 | More by sdonegan

metter98

New York

3.69/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: The beer is clear amber orange in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high off white head that died down rather quickly, leaving delicate lacing covering the surface and a thin ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of caramel hops are present in the nose along with notes of citrusy and pine resin hops.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has some initial hints of malty sweetness that is promptly followed by a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium=-bodied, somewhat crisp and slightly syrupy on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer has a good balance between the malts and hops and doesn't have an "in your face" amount of alcohol or bitterness compared to some of the other beers in the style.

Serving type: can

05-15-2013 04:00:45 | More by metter98

bayareahustla

California

3.84/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Can thanks to RWNAY.

Appearance is like a dark apple juice, almost reddish but i would say mostly dark orange.

Smell is rediculous on this one. tons of melon pineapple and mango. almost getting hints of vanilla. really liking this ones nose man i could tape a sample of this beer to my nose and walk around at work all day and be perfectly happy with that. :)

Taste does not follow the nose as much as i was salivating for. quite boozy at first but smooths out with the carmel notes. nice bitterness, not too much, not too little, just right. little bit of pine.

Mouthfeel is perfect in the carbonation area. drank this puppy at about 48 degrees and loved it.

i would intake this beer again.

Serving type: can

05-15-2013 00:51:08 | More by bayareahustla

Kubrickx

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

05-12-2013 18:18:22 | More by Kubrickx

jdhasse

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

05-04-2013 01:48:02 | More by jdhasse

jklecko2

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

05-03-2013 16:38:12 | More by jklecko2

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: Pours lightly hazy medium reddish amber in color with light amounts of visible carbonation and some dark orange + ruby red highlights. The beer has a finger tall dense foamy dark beige head that slowly reduces to a couple of small patches of thin film along with a very thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer and a medium thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of citrus/grapefruit, tropical/pineapple. and pine hops over the top of caramel malts. Light notes of grassy hops as well.

T: Upfront there are moderate to strong flavors of caramel malts with some light amounts of sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of citrus/grapefruit, tropical/pineapple, and pine hops. These hops impart a moderate to strong amount of bitterness that lingers for quite a while and fades slowly.

M: Slightly fuller than medium bodied with slightly more than moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: I found this beer to be pretty easy to drink and enjoyable but a touch too big to be a sessionable brew. Nice hop flavors and aromas with a decent amount of complexity.

Serving type: can

05-02-2013 01:46:12 | More by dbrauneis

LarryK

New York

2.03/5  rDev -45.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

On tap at the Pony Bar, I was eager to try this newly-minted Chicago-based entrant into the increasingly crowded NYC craft scene, but came away rather disappointed.

Appearance: Light, almost unexpectedly transparent for a DIPA.

Smell: Almost nonexistent. Some light citric notes, but nothing so bold that it announces itself.

Taste: Flavors are muted, very little to get excited about here. Some grapefruit, some pint. Almost tastes oniony, though not sure if that’s my mind imparting a nonexistentent flavor due to word association with the brewery name.

Mouthfeel: Thin, light-bodied, forgettable.

Overall: A suboptimal double IPA. I’d be willing to give this another go on the chance that Pony received a bad keg, but my initial experience with this beer was less than satisfying.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2013 15:17:08 | More by LarryK

JakeMorgan13

Illinois

4/5  rDev +7.2%

04-28-2013 02:56:57 | More by JakeMorgan13

pknyc

New York

4/5  rDev +7.2%

04-23-2013 19:04:52 | More by pknyc

mackeyse

New York

4/5  rDev +7.2%

04-22-2013 20:49:38 | More by mackeyse

Izzybone

Indiana

3/5  rDev -19.6%

04-22-2013 01:50:34 | More by Izzybone

ONUMello

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz can poured into a tulip
A: Hazy copper-orange with a 1/2-finger head that quickly settles
S: Bold, malty with a heavy dose of grapefruit pith
T: Lots of malts again, noticeable hops with citrus/pine but lacks the freshness many DIPAs show
M: Fairly full bodied; good malt/hop balance but not quite as crisp as I'd like
O: Decent overall, though this particular can feels a bit tired- I couldn't find a drink by or bottled on date and I feel this would definitely benefit from one; I would like to try it again if I could be certain it was fresh

Serving type: can

04-20-2013 03:29:31 | More by ONUMello

Whiskeydeez

Kansas

4.25/5  rDev +13.9%

04-17-2013 16:38:45 | More by Whiskeydeez

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.73/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Served in a snifter glass.

Appearance: Right in to the glass looks delish, semi hazy amber with heavy bubbles on the body hovering the wall of the glass. Head is an off-white rising to maybe just under a finger's length.

Smell: Smells awfully floral and pretty damn strong, malty scent with raw hops. I honestly could sniff this all day.

Taste: Like the scent, heavy floral but missing that bitterness feel I love from IPAs in general. Heavy grapefruit that creates a subtle citrus-sweetness to it. With light piney feel. I will look for this brew on tap maybe it gives it a little more respect.

Mouth: medium to heavy, and I would say an average stickiness to it. Very crisp malts at the end, not bad.

Overall: This DIPA has to grow on you, it is not the type that I personally think you would love off the bat. The recipe might need some tweaking and I normally wouldn't recommend in aging in barrels but this might be all this brew needs to compete with the "big boys". Salud!

Serving type: can

04-17-2013 04:25:19 | More by BlurryVisi0n

Eaglefan344

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +13.9%

04-17-2013 03:31:44 | More by Eaglefan344

magnusdave

New York

4.25/5  rDev +13.9%

04-10-2013 20:04:45 | More by magnusdave

americanjones

New York

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%

04-01-2013 22:30:16 | More by americanjones

DylanK

Kansas

4.75/5  rDev +27.3%

03-26-2013 04:04:16 | More by DylanK

MIA4IPA

Illinois

4/5  rDev +7.2%

03-23-2013 17:16:38 | More by MIA4IPA

sneaks2210

New York

3.25/5  rDev -12.9%

03-23-2013 05:28:07 | More by sneaks2210

Fusebuddy

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +13.9%

03-14-2013 20:01:51 | More by Fusebuddy